His mission was to ensure that "when Elmo goes to school, there will be the instruments to play," he explained before joining Joe Lamond, head of an international trade association of musical instrument makers, in the committee room.

"I think Elmo, in many ways, speaks for all children everywhere that musical learning starts in that preschool age and really does help prepare children to learn more in school," Lamond said.

Elmo is something of a Washington insider now. He was at an education event at the White House earlier this month.

And since he is such an insider, CNN asked for his reaction to the big news of the day -- senior White House aide Karen Hughes' resignation to go back to Texas.

"That's wonderful!" Elmo exclaimed. "That means her children are very, very important to her, maybe more important than the president. That's wonderful. Elmo loves you very much, Ms. Karen, and you are a wonderful mother."

Wasn't that pretty much what the president said?

-- Bruce Morton of the CNN Washington bureau contributed to this report.